Designed in the 1930's, the B-25 Mitchell was the most important medium bomber in WWII. It saw service in the British, Canadian, Australian and US forces during WWII with distinction in all theatres of the war. It served long after the war and over 10 000 were manufactured, across 4 decades.

The B-25J is widely held to be the best variant of this versatile aircraft. Early versions had a greenhouse canopy with a bombadier position. Later versions of the "J" had a solid nose with 8 .50 calibre machine guns. All "J" versions had two .50 caliber machineguns mounted on the fuselage below the pilot's position, and two more mounted on the co-pilot's side. Close to 4300 "J" variants were manufactured, and they saw extensive service.

Pilot's loved its stable and predictable flight acteristics, although they complained about the cabin noise (which caused hearing loss in many of its crew). Able to withstand substantial punishment, it was used extensively for interdicting enemy transportation, especially shipping in the Pacific theatre.

B-25 Trivia:Named after American air power pioneer Billy Mitchell, the B-25 is the only US military aircraft named after a specific person.